RYKER'S POV
"So tell me," the blonde she-wolf purred, running her fingers down my arm. "Is it true what they say about Alpha heirs?"
I flashed my best smile. "Depends on what they say."
She giggled. Perfect. This was going exactly how these things always went. Flirt a little. Dance a little. Maybe slip away before Father's boring speech.
Except I couldn't focus.
Something felt wrong. Off. Like an itch I couldn't scratch.
"Ryker?" The blonde leaned closer. "Did you hear my question?"
"Sorry, what?"
She pouted. "I asked if you wanted to get some air."
I should say yes. She was pretty. Interested. Exactly my type.
But when I opened my mouth, different words came out. "Maybe later."
Her face fell. Before she could respond, I walked away, leaving her standing alone.
What was wrong with me? I never turned down a pretty girl.
The full moon ceremony was in full swing. Hundreds of wolves from our pack and visiting packs filled the clearing. Music played. People danced. Unmated wolves watched each other nervously, hoping tonight they'd find their fated mate.
I used to love these ceremonies. The energy. The excitement. The possibilities.
Tonight, I just felt... empty.
"There you are." Cain appeared beside me, looking as miserable as I felt. "Having fun?"
"Tons," I muttered. "You?"
"Father wants us near the stage. Darius is about to make his big announcement."
Right. The engagement announcement. Darius was officially claiming Elena as his chosen mate tonight. Not his fated mate—those bonds hadn't snapped for him yet—but his chosen one.
Father loved it. A marriage alliance with the Beta's family. Very political. Very smart.
Very wrong.
I didn't know why I thought that. Elena was fine. Beautiful. Well-connected. She'd make a decent Luna.
But every time I saw her with Darius, something in my gut twisted.
We made our way to the stage where Father stood with Darius and Elena. My brother looked perfect as always. Strong. Confident. Every inch the future Alpha.
But his eyes were cold. Empty.
Just like mine felt.
"People of the Blood Moon Pack!" Father's voice boomed across the clearing. Everyone stopped talking and turned to listen. "Tonight is a special night. Not only do we celebrate the full moon and honor our potential mate bonds, but we also celebrate the future of our pack!"
Cheers erupted. I forced myself to smile and clap.
"My eldest son, Darius, has chosen his mate." Father gestured to Elena, who beamed and waved. "Elena Frost will become our future Luna!"
More cheers. Louder this time.
Darius took Elena's hand and raised it. They looked like the perfect couple. The perfect future.
So why did I want to punch something?
"Smile," Cain muttered next to me. "Everyone's watching."
I plastered on a bigger smile. Waved at the crowd. Played my part.
But that wrong feeling kept getting stronger.
Where was the omega girl? Mira?
Why was I even thinking about her? She was nobody. Just a servant. Just—
Pain exploded in my chest.
I gasped and stumbled. Cain grabbed my arm. "Ryker? What's wrong?"
"I don't—" The pain got worse. Like someone was ripping my heart out. "I don't know."
Cain's eyes widened. "I feel it too."
"Feel what?" But even as I asked, I knew. Something was happening. Something big.
Darius broke off mid-sentence in his speech. His hand went to his chest, his face pale.
He felt it too.
All three of us. At the same time.
What the hell was going on?
"Probably just nerves," Father said, frowning at us. "Darius, continue your speech."
But Darius didn't move. He stared at the packhouse like he could see through the walls.
The crowd started murmuring. Confused. Worried.
That's when I felt it. A pull. Strong and impossible to ignore. Coming from beneath the packhouse.
From the basement.
"No," I whispered. "It can't be."
"What can't be?" Cain asked.
Before I could answer, the world exploded with light.
Silver light erupted from the packhouse basement. It shot into the sky like a beam, so bright I had to shield my eyes.
Power slammed into me. Into everyone. The force of it drove me to my knees.
All around the clearing, wolves dropped. Some shifted involuntarily. Others just fell, unable to stand against the wave of pure, raw power.
I'd never felt anything like it.
"What is that?" someone screamed.
The light grew brighter. Stronger. I could feel it in my bones, in my blood, in every part of me.
And beneath it all, I felt her.
The omega. Mira.
This power was coming from her.
"Impossible," Father breathed. He was one of the few still standing, but even he looked shaken. "She wasn't supposed to shift until—"
The basement doors blew off their hinges.
A wolf emerged. But not just any wolf.
She was massive. Bigger than any female wolf I'd ever seen. Her fur was pure silver—like moonlight made solid. And her eyes...
Violet. Glowing violet eyes that swept across the crowd.
When her gaze landed on me, everything stopped.
A golden thread snapped into place in my chest. Hot. Bright. Perfect.
Mate.
The word rang through every part of me. My wolf howled in recognition.
She was my mate.
I looked at Darius. His eyes were wide with shock, his hand pressed to his chest.
Then at Cain. He'd gone completely still, staring at the silver wolf like he'd seen a ghost.
They felt it too.
All three of us.
One mate. Three bonds.
The silver wolf—Mira—stood in the broken doorway, panting. Blood matted her fur. Silver burns marked her legs where chains had been.
She looked at us. At her three mates.
And I waited for the joy, the recognition, the overwhelming need to run to her.
But I felt... nothing.
No. That wasn't right. I felt the bond. I could see the golden thread connecting us.
But it felt wrong. Blocked. Like trying to push through a wall.
"Guards!" Father's voice shattered the silence. "Contain the White Wolf! Now!"
White Wolf? What was he talking about?
Guards rushed forward with silver nets. The silver wolf snarled, and power rippled out from her again.
The guards dropped to their knees, unable to move.
She'd commanded them. With just her presence, she'd forced them to submit.
"Impossible," Darius whispered. "White Wolves are extinct."
"Clearly not," Cain said.
The silver wolf's eyes found mine again. And this time, I saw something in them that made my heart crack.
Pain. Betrayal. Heartbreak.
Like she'd expected something from me and I'd failed her.
But I didn't even know her. How could I fail someone I didn't know?
She threw back her head and howled. The sound was beautiful and terrible and so sad it hurt to hear.
Then she ran.
Not toward us. Away from us.
Into the forest. Into the darkness.
"After her!" Father screamed. "Don't let her escape!"
Wolves shifted and gave chase. But I stood frozen, my hand on my chest where the bond burned.
"Did you feel that?" I asked my brothers. "The mate bond?"
"Yes," Darius said tightly. "But it's wrong. Broken somehow."
"I felt it in my dreams," Cain said quietly. "For weeks. I thought I was going crazy."
Three mates. One bond. All of us connected to the omega we'd spent years tormenting.
The girl Father had locked in a basement.
The girl who just shifted into the most powerful wolf any of us had ever seen.
And she'd looked at us like we'd destroyed her.
"What did we do?" I whispered.
Elena appeared at Darius's side, her face twisted with fury. "You felt it, didn't you? The bond?"
Darius didn't answer.
"I told you!" Elena shrieked. "I told you she was your mate! That's why I paid the witch to keep the bond blocked!"
My blood ran cold. "You what?"
But before Elena could answer, a scream echoed from the forest.
Not a wolf's howl. A human scream.
Mira's scream.
The bond in my chest exploded with pain. Her pain.
All three of us ran toward the sound without thinking.
We found her in a clearing, surrounded by Father's guards. They'd caught her in silver nets. She'd shifted back to human form, naked and bleeding and trapped.
And Father stood over her, smiling.
"Welcome home, Mira," he said. "Did you really think you could run from me?"
He raised a silver collar. The kind used for prisoners. For slaves.
The kind that would lock her wolf away forever.
"No!" I started forward, but Cain grabbed my arm.
"We can't," he hissed. "Father will—"
"I don't care!"
But I was too late.
Father snapped the collar around Mira's neck.
She screamed again as silver burned into her skin. The mate bond flared with agony so intense I doubled over.
When I looked up, Mira's violet eyes met mine.
And I saw the exact moment her heart broke.
Not from the collar. Not from the pain.
From us. Standing there. Doing nothing while Father chained our mate like an animal.
"Please," she whispered. "Please help me."
I opened my mouth. But no words came out.
What could I say? I didn't even understand what was happening.
Father hauled Mira to her feet. "Back to the ceremony, everyone. The show's over."
As he dragged her away, Mira looked back at us one last time.
And I knew—whatever we'd just lost, we'd never get it back.